I Had No Idea It Would Be So Soft

The other day the post office left a notice to pick up a box.  I saw it was from Danni from the blog "On the way to critter farm . . ."  I was excited, but, alas, life has been in the way so I wasn't able to get it right away.

This morning, my husband was going that direction, so he was nice enough to stop at the post office and pick up the box.  As he handed it to me, he said, "Be careful.  It's heavy."  It was NOT heavy!  I opened the box and here's what I found! 

Fiber from Kai the Llama!!

Chocolate from Danni!!

One of the blogs listed on the side of my blog is Danni's excellent and entertaining blog about her life in Oregon with her animals.  A few weeks ago, her llama Kai got a haircut.  Kai had quite a coat of fiber (hair, fur, whatever).  Danni generously offered to share some with blog readers here. 

Here's what a bag of Kai Llama's fiber looks like.  

Kinda like furry chocolate.  I didn't know what to expect when I took it out of the bag.  It's SOFT.  And dense.  And soft.  If there's some coarser fiber in there, I haven't felt it yet.   It's really very soft. 

Oh.  That's what I'm planning to do with this fiber.   Felt it.  On soap.  I make cold process soap from scratch.  I have some soaps that are sitting around waiting for a new home.  I think those soaps will make excellent experiments with Kai Llama's fiber.  I've studied up on how to do it.  It doesn't look difficult.  It looks like it takes patience.  I'll take a dose of it before I get started and then I'll report back.  I owe that to Kai, you know. 

I have another project that will take a couple of weeks of my time and then I'll be felting away on soap with Kai's fiber.  I'll take photos and notes and let you know how it goes.

To Kai Llama and Danni:  THANK YOU!!  THANK YOU!!  THANK YOU!!

I can already report on the chocolate Kit Kat bars from Danni:

Sewing Weekend at a Friend's Home

Fire engine panel quilt made by my friend Kim

Desert Bear made by my mother

Crazy Eights quilt made by Kim and me (and Mom, too!) (pattern by Bits N Pieces)

Kim is tying these two fleece throws together (sorry about the upside down dogs)

My husband is starting to machine quilt (you might have to click on this one)

Purse I made--from Grids & Grommets pattern by Indygo Junction


It was a great weekend of quilting, sewing, eating, and visiting.  We got plenty done and solved many of the problems of the world--if others would just do what we suggest.  

Mom is making progress on her bear quilt project.  My husband is just learning how to machine quilt and I think he's doing great!  He already has several offers from friends and family to quilt their projects.  He says he's not ready yet.  I think he is.

I'm already planning for our next sewing get-together day.  Hmmm . . . which projects should I take along?

What crafty or other get togethers are you doing with friends and family ?

Mom Finished Her Quilt!

Mom was very excited when she stitched the last bit of binding on this beautiful, colorful quilt on Monday.  She instructed me to call the newspapers.  And then take pictures.  It was afternoon, so the lighting isn't the best, but I usually do what my mother tells me to do . . .
 
Off and on, it's taken her about two years to complete this quilt.

 It's very special to her and to me because many of the fabrics used in the quilt came from scraps leftover from her mother's (my Grandma Lucinda's) handmade dresses.   Can you tell that Grandma Lucinda liked floral prints?

The modern fabrics are the backing fabric, the diamond print in the corners of the borders, the striped sashing, inner border, binding, and backing.  "Dusty rose" was Grandma Lucinda's favorite color.  Mom included shades of this pinkish color to remember Grandma's favorite. 

The fine quilting, emphasizing the lines on this quilt, was done by Shirley Pratt of Cowgirl Up Quilts in Benson, Arizona. 

The pattern was designed by Pamela Goecke Dinndorf and appeared in Quilter's Home magazine here. 

Mom loves this quilt, especially now that it is DONE!  I think it will be out to be enjoyed regularly.  It is a great reminder of Grandma Lucinda and all those pretty fabrics. 

Mom--good job!!

Sewing Days with Good People

My friend Kim made the above cowgirl rag quilt for a friend of hers.  I think the friend loves it!  She showed a photo of herself wrapped up in the quilt with all three of her dogs, a cup of tea, pinky out, at 1:00 AM watching the royal wedding.  THAT'S the photo that I need for this blog, but she refuses to give it up.

By now, you know that I LOVE to make things.  I love to quilt and sew and make soap and . . . my friend Sue says that my crafts expand to fit the space.  I think I should admit to BEYOND the available space.

My mother and my friends and I get together every so often to sew together.  Usually, we work on our own projects.  Sometimes, however, we work on projects together.  Usually without fighting.

Food is involved, too.  You have to keep your strength up to keep on sewing and quilting, you know.

Kim used the leftovers from the rag quilt above to make a smaller quilt.  Here is her Maddie helping with the layout of the quilt. 

My mother received these fabric circles from a friend.  Mom's plan was to make round placemats.  Well, she got one mostly done.  Pronounced it a centerpiece and moved on to other projects!

Here is Mom's stack and whack quilt in progress.  It was going pretty well until she couldn't find Row 10.  Turns out she didn't make a Row 10, but after all that hunting and aggravation, she was kinda ready for a break. 

Here is a baby quilt in progress.  Kim and I worked together on this one.  Mom worked on it too, but she didn't like the colors, so she made sure to have enough of her own projects ready to avoid having to work on it again.  

Here's a pretty flower from Kim's back yard.  

Here is Kim's Maisy on the bed with the batting that was spread out to "relax" out the wrinkles before it got put into a quilt.  The plastic bins are there to keep Maisy off the bed and batting . . .

Why is everyone looking at me?

 Maddie has no quilt available to arrange or test, so she's sleeping very well on her bed, but there's something wrong with this incline.

Quilts in Progress

I've been crazy busy for the last several weeks, so blogging has been sporadic.  However, others are busier than I am and they're still blogging.  So here goes!

I'm showing some of my sewing and quilting works in progress over the last several weeks.

Here's the Fantasia quilt in progress:  

Here is the Charlie Pirtle memorial quilt that I made for the Becoming an Outdoorswoman in New Mexico workshop.  It's a raffle quilt for scholarships for women to attend the workshops.  It's in honor of our dear friend and outdoorsman Charlie Pirtle,  who died in 2008. Here is the blog post about the finished quilt and Charlie. 

Here is the Shadowbox quilt.

Baby quilt getting basted--Crazy Eights by Bits 'n Pieces

Fire Escape quilt

The Charlie Pirtle quilt (at the top of this page) is finished and at home with its new owner.

The others all need to be quilted.

The baby quilt might get quilted this weekend.  After all, this baby is due within the next month!  Best get with it!

I love making the quilt tops.  I love quilting them, too.  Sometimes, though, a deadline such as having a class sample in a shop by a certain date prevents me from getting the quilting done.  Other times, a quilt with a more pressing deadline (such as a gift) gets put ahead of a quilt that is ready for quilting.  That causes some of my quilts to stay unquilted.

I feel so good when it get one quilted and bound and done.  I always have mixed feelings about finishing a quilt.  I feel relief and happiness to have it done.  I also feel a little sad to see the project end.

I love the process.  I also love the finished product.  When one goes away, I have a twinge of sadness.  I hope it gives joy to the recipient.

Now--off I go to my sewing machine!!

Charlie Pirtle Memorial Scholarship Quilt

This is part of the quilt that I made to be raffled in memory of our friend, Charlie Pirtle, who passed away in August 2008.  Charlie was a real gentleman who loved the outdoors.   He loved sharing his knowledge of the outdoors with others.  He taught at the Becoming an Outdoors Woman in New Mexico workshop for many years.  His students loved him and fellow instructors loved to be around him because we could still learn so much from him. 

Photo courtesy of Dan'o Miller at Semper Fi International

This is the third quilt that I've made in Charlie's honor to be raffled off at BOW-NM.  A woman from the Albuquerque area won the quilt this year.  She and I both had tears in our eyes.  She never met Charlie, but I'm sure she felt the love and friendship that I tried to sew into this quilt. 

The pattern is called Sweet Sixteen Patches designed by Kaffe Fassett and published in Quilt Magazine.

Here are the two other quilts that I made for the Charlie Pirtle Memorial Scholarship raffle.

This was for the 2009 BOW

For the 2010 BOW

I'm honored to be making these quilts in Charlie's memory, but I'd rather not be making them.  I think of him (and Sara) all the time I'm working on these quilts.  I think of them often even when I'm not working on the quilt.

My husband, who loved Charlie, too, already helped form the idea and the plan for the next quilt.  It will be an old fashioned pattern.  Made in an old fashioned way.  I think Charlie would smile and nod about that with his grin and that twinkle in his eye.

And Charlie--I'd take pocket change from you for that T-Bolt.  

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Yes!  I know!  I know I'm a few days late here, but . . . oh well! 

Happy Mother's Day to my great mom Mary.  I appreciate all she's done for me and continues to do for me.  Love her lots. 

Several weeks (months?) ago, she asked for some tree art to go on the walls of her computer room.  Her computer room is where she likes to do genealogy research.  Hence, the tree art idea. 

Here is my first contribution.  This small quilt is a tree from the Dream a Little Dream quilt pattern by LizzieB Cre8ive. The pattern is great, easy, and fun. 

I made it with all cotton fabrics and did it all on the machine. 

Now . . . to plan the other tree art . . .


Mom:  I love ya lots!!!

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